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When I first visited The Mining Exchange, the colourful art and the energy it gives the place immediately caught my eye. Located in the heart of Redruth, 81 Fore St is home to a collective of artists who have created something truly special. The artworks displayed range from various ceramics and little trinkets to vast acrylic paintings, each telling their own story about who created them. It is the kind of place that makes you feel alive and makes you wonder about everything great that can be achieved in our world.  

How is this possible, you might ask? To find out more, I returned a few weeks later for a chat with Phil Kincaid, the founder of The Mining Exchange.  

Phil was wearing snazzy ankle-high boots adorned with images of Mother Mary, spoke of how they were his favourite and that he’d wear them till the day they fell apart. Vonny, a friend of Phil’s, mentioned how she’d written about them in the past. We were joined by another friend called Sharon, and there were lots of other people coming in and out of the place as we talked, stopping by to talk about how their day had gone, or their plans for upcoming events they were involved in. The space was filled with laughter and joy.  

Our conversation focused on the ethos of the place, how it has developed and how Phils’ values have helped shape it, alongside the community he has helped create. Nowhere in the building is staff only, the entire place is open to the public. They don’t do exclusivity, everyone is welcome.  

In an increasingly online world, “we (the Mining Exchange) believe in face-to-face, talking to people, personal connection”. He told me how everyone supports each other, that it’s a “community about the community”. People here feel valued, instead of judged, in contrast to so many other places in society. Striving to be truly inclusive and diverse is what is most important.  

Phil spoke of treating everyone as “equal, not special”. What he means by this is that no matter what disability someone may have, be it mental or physical, they are treated the same as all others and not labelled in a certain way. Considering how such things have been framed in recent times, people can take this personally, as if they are being discriminated against. Not using labels however, places the people at the fore.  

Seven different artists rent studio space at The Mining Exchange in Redruth, while the total number of artists who have works displayed there is 64 and counting all the time. All the work you can see in the Exchange is available for sale. A range of all age groups, including both people who are just starting out in creating art, as well as those who have been artists for decades. The artwork spreads across each and every nook and cranny of the space, all blending together, with the idea that it’s people who are blending together. 

Originally Published in the Made In Redruth community newspaper – Summer 2025 Issue

Web Archive: https://theladderredruth.com/made-in-redruth/the-mining-exchange

Luke Austin-Heywood is one of the artists at The Mining Exchange. When I first visited, I was particularly drawn to a number of artworks in one area of the gallery, which I soon found out to be his works. Luke happened to be there that day, and I struck up a conversation.

Luke has lived in the West Country since he was two. He attended Launceston College in North Cornwall for school, then down to Falmouth Art School for a BTEC in General Art & Design, before getting a place on a Fine Art course at Plymouth University. During his time in Plymouth, Luke suffered severe back injuries, which began to deteriorate shortly after and affect him in a big way.  

From his time in higher education, the most important thing Luke has taken away with him is that, “It’s down to me, I got to find the interest and the energy to do it. Doesn’t matter what someone tells me or how inspiring someone is, it’s got to come from me, really. Also, having people around you, that’s the best part of it, the culture and the energy.” 

Luke spoke of some of the ideas that drive him to paint. “The connection between (Jackson) Pollock’s all-over drip painting, natural form, natural rhythm, at the deepest levels of consciousness the mind is simply nature – this was a state which can be said to relate to Lavender Mist (1950), whose drips and skeins of paint balancing in the shallow depth of the picture plane, have a similarity to the organisation and structure of neurons firing in the depths of the brain, and of course natural structures and patterns as such found in trees and water. We are nature.” 

These works of Pollock were inspired by jazz music of the time. Luke turns to modern electronic music and its rhythmic patterns, in conjunction with natural elements such as the coast of Cornwall, the light, warmth of summer for inspiration. A contrast of mania and busyness in summer months against the quiet bleakness, rain and cold of winter. These concepts form a kind of duality, which comes to the fore in Luke’s paintings.  

The aforementioned modern music creates the pathos, balancing against a calmer ethos of natural form. He is interested in the little details of how paint behaves on the canvas. “The practice is meditative, and as it is about nature, it is about the mind and emotions, about the environment and about a human experience through abstract painting. It is also at times dynamic and emotional, stormy and atavistic, in contrast to the meditative.” 

Luke’s artistic practice is built upon a dynamic fusion of multiple other influences too. These  include Abstract Expressionism, Primitivism, Concrete Art and Mid-Century American Painting. His work also reflects deep engagement with late 20th century graphic design, anime, manga and the digital aesthetics of cyberspace.  

This diverse mix creates a truly unique visual language that bridges the gap between traditional and contemporary art forms. His goal is to create art that resonates with viewers on both an intellectual and emotional level.

Originally Published in the Made In Redruth community newspaper – Summer 2025 Issue

Web Archive: https://theladderredruth.com/made-in-redruth/meet-luke

A much improved Truro City battled to draw level after falling behind 2-0 against Sutton United before being undone by a late strike from youngster Kai Jennings to fall to a 3-2 defeat.

The Tinners were rooted to the bottom of the national league going into the game, having lost 3 games in a row without scoring. 

Sutton United were the team just outside the relegation zone on 16 points, four ahead of Truro. 

This made the match a ‘must-win’ game for Truro City, as victory would lift them to just one point from safety.

Truro lined up in a 4-1-3-2 formation, with Lavercombe in goal, Bell, Donellan, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Riley-Lowe making up the back four, Rooney in holding midfield, Dean, Deeming and Hasani in attacking midfield, and Johnson-Fisher and Harvey in attack. 

A crowd of 2089 fans were in attendance, including 94 Sutton United fans who made the 286-mile trip from Southeast London. 

Before the game, our reporter spoke to some Truro City supporters about their thoughts.

One supporter, Shane, predicted a 2-1 win. “Definitely need to win today, if we don’t win today, then I think Truro is back in the National League South.”

He voiced concerns about player fitness, particularly in terms of players who were away on loan at other clubs and need more time to build cohesion with the squad. 

Shane praised goalkeeper Dan Lavercombe because “he respects the fans, he’ll come over, shake hands, say thank you”. 

He also expressed a desire for “players to shoot when they have the opportunity, not to walk it into the goal, because at the moment that’s what Truro seems to want to do.”

Another supporter, Chris, gave the same prediction, a 2-1 win. 

When asked about who he thought the club’s best player was this season, he highlighted right-back Zac Bell.

“Every game he’s been all over the pitch, never stops running… he’s defending all the time but he’s also really good going forward.”

He mentioned that Truro have brought a lot of new players in “either on loan, or from other clubs, and not that many of them have played that many games. So I’d say maybe just use all the players that we’ve brought in this season a little bit more”.

Cole Deeming, who has just joined the club on a short term loan from Championship side West Brom, was straight in the starting XI for this game. 

Chris also believed that Truro needed to have a shot more often. 

“Shoot when you get the chance. Don’t be afraid, the worst thing that can happen is it sails over the bar. You don’t shoot, you don’t score, it’s that simple. Don’t try and pass the ball into the net, we’re not Man City.”

Truro started the game brightly, but few clear chances followed. 

That was until the 27th minute, when Lirak Hasani teed up Will Dean, who struck the ball towards the bottom corner, but it was pushed out for a corner by Sutton keeper Tommy Reid. 

Truro had another good chance ten minutes later, when Tyler Harvey found a bit of space in the box after a corner, but his effort was just wide of the post. 

Sutton opened the scoring in the 45th minute however, against the run of play, when Jayden Harris found the back of the net from inside the box, following a silky run from Jack Taylor. 

Truro forward Dominic Johnson-Fisher suffered a bad injury in the build up to the goal, and was left lying on the pitch as the ball went in, prompting protests from the home players. 

The injury has now been found to not be as serious as originally thought, but it looked quite awful at the time, delaying the game for over 10 minutes as the player was stretchered off. 

Speaking at half-time, a Truro supporter stated, “Up until we let that goal in, I thought we were the better team, we had more of the ball, we were in their half a lot more. Shame just to concede, worst time to let a goal in.”

He was still confident that Truro could turn the game around in the second half.

The home side nearly conceded just 3 minutes into the second period, however, as Zac Bell lost out to Osman Foyo, but his shot was well saved by Dan Lavercombe.

Sutton did not have to wait long for another chance to extend their lead as Kai Jennings scored a crisply struck effort into the top corner from the edge of the box. 2-0. 

Truro did not let their heads drop, and tried to create opportunities for themselves.

They were rewarded in the 63rd minute, as a brilliant cross from Connor Riley-Lowe found the head of Lirak Hasani, who halved the deficit. 

Truro kept on pushing forward, and with just under 10 minutes left, Hasani ran down the left, cut inside and fired one in from outside the penalty area. 

The ball bounced under Sutton keeper Tommy Reid and over the line. All square. 

This sparked absolute pandemonium in the East Stand as the Truro supporters went wild with joy.

Their joy was to be short-lived.

A well crafted move from Sutton just 2 minutes later found Kai Jennings once again, who thumped the ball into the bottom corner. 

The match ended, Truro City 2, Sutton United 3. 

The defeat put Truro City 7 points adrift from safety.

Truro supporter Chris, speaking after the game said it was “tough to take, after we’d come back from being 2-0 down, you kind of thought we were gonna go on and win it.”

He also praised the team for their efforts, in what was a much improved performance for the side compared to the previous few games. 

Truro City’s next home game is against 9th placed Wealdstone, on Tuesday December 16th.

Originally published on The Mouth on December 3rd 2025.

https://themouth.co.uk/2025/12/03/lirak-hasani-shines-with-a-brace-but-truro-city-just-cant-seem-to-stop-the-rot

Super-sub Keaton Ward scored a 25-yard screamer to condemn Truro City to a 1-0 defeat against Altrincham. 

Heading into the match, Truro Sat 23rd in the league on 12 points, albeit only 1 point from safety, with a win, two draws and two defeats in their last 5 outings. 

The club’s best player, Tyler Harvey, has been injured for much of this season, which has plagued the team’s efforts in front of goal.

Truro lined-up in a 5-3-2 formation, with Lavercombe in goal, Bell, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sanders, Law and Riley-Lowe in defence, Dean, Rooney and Hasani making up the midfield three, and Johnson-Fisher and Pyke in attack. 

Harvey was named on the bench, much to the excitement of the Truro City supporters. 

This was the first time the talismanic striker had featured in a matchday squad since the 20th of September. 

A sell out crowd of 3,184 fans attended the match, including 146 away fans, who made the 318-mile journey from Cheshire.  

The game began with a moments’ silence, with remembrance Sunday being the following day. 

Once the game began however, the Truro City supporters were in good voice, the ground booming with many of the classic Truro City chants.

“We’re the biggest team in Cornwall, and now we’re finally back, with Yetty on the sidelines, Tyler Harvey in attack, you’ll find us in the east stand, making all the noise, so sing your f***ing hearts out, for the Truro City boys” 

‘Yetty’ is the nickname for current Assistant Manager Stewart Yetton, a Truro City Legend, and the clubs’ all-time leading goalscorer with 232 goals in all competitions for ‘The Tinners’. 

The first half was a rather cagey affair, with both sides playing to avoid defeat rather than going for the win. 

Truro City created a good chance on eight minutes, after a well-timed cross from Connor Riley-Lowe found the head of Rekeil Pyke, whose effort was tipped just over the bar by Altrincham keeper Luke Hutchinson. 

The biggest moment of the first 45 minutes came on the half-hour mark, when Altrincham striker James Gale volleyed the ball into the net from close range, but the goal was disallowed following infringement on Truro keeper Dan Lavercombe in the build up. 

Truro defended bravely but conceded a great many corners, which put them under immense pressure as Altrincham have a great deal of height in their team. 

Some questionable calls from referee Emily Heaslip also did not help their fortunes.

As the second half began, the away side came roaring out of the gates, and only the stellar positioning and anticipation of Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain who got onto the ball and cleared it off the line stopped Truro from going behind. 

Truro faced wave after wave of attacks and were rescued on numerous occasions by some solid goalkeeping from Lavercombe, or by the wastefulness of the opposition. 

Tyler Harvey was brought on with 11 minutes to go, to much adoration from the home crowd.

Altrincham finally broke the deadlock on 81 minutes, after a loose ball bounced out of the Truro penalty box and was returned with interest, courtesy of Midfielder Keanton Ward.

A sublime strike from 25 yards out left Lavercombe with no chance.

With time running out, Harvey looked lively and tried his best to bring Truro city level with two late chances he created for himself, and was unlucky not to score. 

The match finished, Truro City 0, Altrincham 1. 

Truro City continue their first ever season in the National League, following a historic campaign in the 24/25 season which saw them promoted from the 6th tier of English football as Champions. 

This saw City, who are also known as ‘The Tinners’, become the first ever Cornish Football team to achieve professional status.

The Altrincham goalkeeper took glee in sarcastically clapping the Truro supporters as he walked off, which greatly incensed them.

One rather curious event that happened at the end of the game was that a small group of ‘ignorant’ teenagers booed the team. 

Many of the more loyal fans were furious. 

As this was taking place, our reporter happened to meet Sharon, a former Truro Ladies player, she also played for Arsenal Women from 1991 to 1993 under manager Vic Ackers, before spells with Watford Ladies and Hertfordshire County. “Football runs through my veins”, she commented.

Sharon was understandably annoyed at the booing and stated that “behaviour like that” was unacceptable, and that those people “had no clue” (about what it means to be a football fan). 

Despite the result and drama in the stands, the match made for interesting viewing. 

It is a wonderful thing for Cornish Football to have a professional team, and it brings the local community a lot of joy to have a quality side to root for, some fans travelled from as far as Penzance or Devon to see the game. 

Our reporter also spoke to a few of the diehard Truro faithful, who were frustrated at the team’s reluctance to  “just take a shot” more often, but were happy to be there, part of the community, singing along as a harmonious unit on a cold November afternoon.

One supporter said it was “much more like a family”, comparing the authenticity of non-league football to the overly commercial and corporatized state of the Premier League.

Our reporter plans to attend Truro’s next home game against Sutton United, which takes place tomorrow. 

Originally published on The Mouth on November 15th 2025.

https://themouth.co.uk/2025/11/15/star-player-tyler-harveys-return-spells-hope-for-truro-city-dominik-frolec

On the 25th of October, Truro City Football Club broke the record for the longest away day in English Football history, as they made the 900-mile round trip to Gateshead, a northern town on the outskirts of Newcastle.

Chris, a Truro supporter, undertook the mammoth challenge of cycling to the match.

Chris began his journey six days before the match, giving himself as much time as possible to make it, without missing Truro’s home game the day before.

As you may not be surprised to find out, the journey was far from easy. “Very much touch and go as to whether I would actually overall, achieve what I wanted to.”

For Chris, the most difficult aspect of the trip was running out of battery on both his phone and his bike lights, as he was cycling up to 14 hours per day.

“I had this particularly sketchy moment when I was cycling from Rochdale to Burnley in the middle of night. My phone is nearly dead, the first light on my bike had gone and the backup light had a warning light going.”

Luckily, he made it into Burnley and found a kebab shop where he was able to charge his batteries.

The ever unreliable google maps added to the distance, getting Chris lost on multiple occasions and brought the over distance to over 500 miles.

His motivation behind undertaking this voyage was multifaceted.

First of all it was the record, and there is chance this fixture will not happen again.

He knew there would be a lot interest in it, and happened to have the week booked off work, giving him the opportunity to make this “extra special’ and attempt to do it by bicycle.

The personal sense of achievement was also a key factor.

In addition to that, Chris also raised money for the Against Malaria Foundation, which is one of the most efficient charities in terms of lives saved per pound donated.

He made a commitment to donate money equivalent to the cost of the trip, which was £900.

Other fans, as well as colleagues and family donated another £500.

The resulting £1400 became £1737 with gift aid.

Donating the cost was important to Chris personally, as he wasn’t prepared to ask anyone else to put their hand into their pocket unless he had done it himself.

“What an epic cycle ride in celebration of this record breaking away fixture and distance. We love Chris’ madness in cycling the distance and are so grateful both to Chris and all the Truro City supporters who have supported him and contributed,” says Rob Mather, Founder and CEO of the Against Malaria Foundation (AMF).

“100% of the money raised will buy 1,005 long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) that will protect more than 1,800 people when they sleep at night from the bites of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, that would otherwise cause severe illness or worse. That’s the equivalent of three entire villages covered. These nets can be expected to prevent one death, avert close to 1,000 cases of malaria and improve the local economy by £20,000 (12x the donation amount) – when people are ill, they cannot farm, drive, teach – function, so the improvement in health leads to economic as well as humanitarian benefits.”

Exactly where the nets are distributed by the Truro City fundraising can be followed on Chris’ fundraising page as AMF allocates each donation to a specific net distribution as part of their desire to be particularly accountable and transparent with their work.

Several of Chris’s colleagues described him as “Insane, but in a good way”, for doing this.

His father was both proud and worried at the same time.

Chris would also like to thank his brother Tom, who has a lot of experience with expeditions, and was a big help.

He provided Chris with a place to stay on the way near Bristol, and a power bank for charging on the go, which Chris says he wouldn’t have made it without.

Chris encourages others to give something like this a go and found it fascinating how accents, people and the countryside change gradually as you cycle through the country.

Chris was surprised at the great reception he got at the pub from the other Truro supporters before the game.

One comment on social media said “Met him at the game, lovely fella. Fantastic achievement!”

As for the match itself, Truro took a 2-0 lead in the first half, courtesy of an opener from Dominic Johnson-Fisher on the break, followed up by close range effort from Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain, the younger brother of the former England international.

Unfortunately for Truro, they also had another two goals disallowed due to some dubious refereeing, which allowed Gateshead a path back into the game in the second half.

The Tynesiders got one back thanks to a sumptuous finish from Kain Adom, who cut in on his left foot and curled one into the bottom corner.

Gateshead equalised on 70 minutes through Frank Nouble, who hit the 6-7 in celebration.

2-2 the final score on a historic day.

Originally published on The Mouth on November 4th 2025.

https://themouth.co.uk/2025/11/04/work-of-a-madman-dominik-frolec